A review of the four new jigsaws that I received for Christmas

For Christmas I was lucky enough to receive some lovely jigsaw puzzles, and so I thought I'd do a quick review of them all in case you are looking for some puzzling inspiration! They are 1000 piece puzzles with bright, colourful designs and all of them were quite quick and easy to put together - a nice change after my larger 3000 piece puzzle!

Parkside View by Galison (1000 piece)

This is a colourful view of a city park with skyscrapers in the background. At first I thought it was going to be a very tricky puzzle with all the different colours and shades, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. The pieces only come in two shapes and so you can work out the orientation. Once you've put together the sky and the buildings, as long as you have space to lay out the majority of the pieces then you can work on a tree at a time, picking out the distinctive pieces that you need for that section. It was a bit difficult to take apart, each piece needed to be removed separately which took a little while. There was a separate poster with the image which I always appreciate, especially as the square box doesn't show the complete design. I loved the beautiful, vibrant colours.

Art Cats by Happily (1000 piece)

This was a very easy sort, as you can identify the parts for most of the cats from individual pieces. In fact after I'd sorted out the edge pieces and the text I didn't really bother sorting the rest, I just hunted through the box for the pieces I needed. I didn't want to finish it too quickly! Each cat is drawn in the style of a different artist, with an appropriate cat themed name underneath which makes for a really fun illustration. The pieces are solid and chunky, and it didn't take too long at all. 

Book Nerd by Workman Puzzle (1000 piece)

I didn't realise until I read the box that this puzzle is based on the book of the same name, which looks like a fun, illustrated read about the love of books. The first thing that I noticed about this puzzle was arrows on the back to indicate which way up the pieces go, which I've not seen before. I didn't need them though! The pieces of this puzzle are all really interesting different shapes which made the puzzle fun to put together. I started with the figures and the plants and then enjoyed piecing together the different sections of books. I loved the variety of books in the image, it's not just classic and well known books but modern books too. I enjoyed the style of the illustration and all the different objects that go on the shelves along with the books.

Classics by Happily (1000 piece)

This puzzle was another easy sort. Each book joins to the edge, so once that is in place you can work on a book at a time. This means it's a great puzzle to work on in small bursts, even if you only have a few minutes to put together one of the spines. Although the books include some of my favourite authors - Margaret Atwood, Daphne du Maurier - along with a good selection of adult and children's books, I did think there could have been a bit more variety in the titles! The 37 books include 7 by Jane Austen, including 'Love and Freindship' which apparently isn't a spelling mistake, Anne of Green Gables features twice and books by Arthur Conan Doyle three times. That aside, I enjoyed the contrasts in the colours and patterns of the book spines, and it was a pretty easy and fun jigsaw to put together over a few evenings.

I feel like I've been a very busy puzzler this year so far! Now I just have one borrowed puzzle to get on with and then I might take a bit of a break, or go back and do some of the old favourites in my collection!

Some tips for completing a larger jigsaw puzzle

Recently I completed my first larger jigsaw puzzle - Garden of Sun Signs by Ravensburger. At only 3000 pieces I realise that I am barely scratching the surface when it comes to enormous jigsaw puzzles, but as I've only worked on smaller puzzles before I thought I would share a few tips that I picked up along the way for tackling a bigger puzzle.

Probably the most important thing to consider when you are looking at larger puzzles is whether you have enough space to lay it all out in one piece. You can make a start by working in sections, but eventually you are going to want to work on the puzzle as a whole. It doesn't necessarily need to be a permanent space like a table, you can use large foam board sheets or similar to build a base and use them to extend your table space or to work on the floor. 

If you have small children or pets, make sure that you can pack away the jigsaw when you aren't working on it, maybe by storing it high up, and putting away any sorting trays and boxes when not in use.

Sort, sort, sort! I used to think that sorting the pieces got in the way of solving the puzzle until I began watching videos by puzzling YouTubers and realised that sorting the pieces is as important as placing the pieces. I find stackable puzzle sorting trays really useful, and I also use kitchen trays and the jigsaw box itself. 

Also, one good sort won't be nearly enough. You'll always miss some pieces, and once you've got a feel for the jigsaw it will be easier to go back through and sort again to find the pieces that you need. Try and keep all the sorted pieces the right way up so that you can easily spot one that you need.

Try not to worry too much about missing pieces as you go along, they almost always turn up and often look different to how you had imagined them while searching. 

Large sections of sorted pieces can be put away to one side while you work on other areas to make it feel less overwhelming.

Don't necessarily worry about completing the edge first if this is the way that you normally tackle a puzzle. Having a large empty area with just a flimsy border around it can make the puzzle more fragile and it's easy to knock pieces out of place. Also, sometimes it's easier to put the border together when you've made a good start on the puzzle, especially if you have large sections that are the same colour.

Take progress photos, even if you don't plan on sharing them with anyone. I love watching my jigsaw go from trays of sorted pieces to completion.

Search online for people that have completed the same puzzle - Reddit is a good place to look and also YouTube for progress videos. Just type Reddit into the search bar followed by the title and brand of your puzzle. I find it really interesting to see how different people tackle a puzzle, for example which areas they choose to start with. You might also pick up some tips specific to your puzzle. 

I'd love to work on a 5000 piece puzzle at some point but there are two barriers - the space it would take up and the cost! I could work on our dining room floor if I moved all the furniture out the way, but I don't think that would be very popular with the rest of the family!

A jigsaw challenge for the New Year - the 3000 piece Garden of Sun Signs from Ravensburger

Towards the end of last year I found myself getting back into jigsaw puzzles. I bought a couple of 1000 piece jigsaws with my birthday money, and got out some of my favourites to do again. I also started watching some puzzlers on YouTube, and that made me want to have a go at a larger and more challenging puzzle.

I spent a lot of time researching. I decided to go with a Ravensburger puzzle as I've completed many of their puzzles in the past and always found that they had a good variety of piece shapes that were enjoyable to put together. I settled upon 3000 for the number of pieces, mainly because any larger than that I just don't have the space. 3000 pieces forms a jigsaw that is about the size of my dining table. 

The design that I chose is called Garden of Sun Signs by Ravensburger (affiliate link). I kept a close eye on prices for a few weeks and found it reduced to around £34 on Black Friday which I thought was a good deal. It's an illustration of a garden filled with plants and trees, and contains a representation of each sign of the zodiac. I'm not particularly into astrology, I chose this puzzle because I liked the illustration style, the detail, and I thought that it had several areas which would be easy to separate and work on. There is a border on each side which looks quite distinctive, and plenty of variation in colour and texture.

I started the puzzle a couple of days after Christmas with a big sort of the pieces. It took me about two hours, and I made great use of the jigsaw puzzle sorting trays (affiliate link) which I received for Christmas. I sorted into two different types of edge pieces, internal pieces with a border section, pinks and purples, browns, blacks, and other interesting pieces.

That left me with a lovely big box of other pieces which I put to one side!

I decided to start by working on the brown pieces. These are mainly found in the top half of the jigsaw along the top border. There are also some distinctive blue clouds which I had picked out in my initial sort. I soon discovered that most of the brown pieces were also linked to the large trees, so I decided to work on those as well.

This meant that I had to do another resort of the pieces to pick out all the tree branches. Then as my eye for finding the pieces that I wanted developed I went on to do a third sort through. These pictures show my progress so far after three sorts. As you can see, although I think I'm doing well with putting the pieces together I'm still missing a few pieces!

These two sections connect together and along with a third smaller section in the bottom right they make up almost the whole top few rows of the jigsaw. For the time being I'm working on the two removable sections from my puzzle mat, as the dining table is currently in use for another project. I'd love to be able to spread it all out, but I know that this is a long term project and I can't justify taking up the whole table for months at a time!

I've now started working on the purple and pink rocky areas which mainly connect to what I already have in place. The tree branches were challenging but doable, however the rocky areas are much more difficult. There are very subtle colour and shape variations which help, but I'm mainly working by shape sorting and trial and error. I'm fairly confident that I've pulled out most of the pieces at least, but it's slow going when I'm only placing a few pieces each session. 

This is definitely a project which is going to occupy me for a little while yet!

Why I love a Christmas jigsaw

I've just finished my first Christmas jigsaw of the season! This puzzle is a brand new one which I bought with my birthday money. It's a 1000 piece puzzle from Ravensburger called Magical Christmas Market (affiliate link) and it's lovely, an illustration of a Christmas market with a starry sky and pretty snow covered houses in the background, festive stalls, and a variety of different people out and about doing their Christmas shopping. It was just the right level of difficulty too - easy to get the top half of the jigsaw completed and then a little more challenging in the middle. I loved and it's definitely becoming a permanent part of my jigsaw puzzle collection!

I love doing a jigsaw (or several!) at Christmas. It brings back many happy memories of working on a puzzle when I was little, and it's a great solo or family activity. They don't all have to be Christmas themed - a couple of years ago I bought an Animal Crossing jigsaw which the children enjoyed helping with - but it is nice to work on one with a festive theme.

I have a few other Christmas jigsaws which I will be working on over the next couple of weeks. I have a set of two 500 piece vintage style jigsaws which I like as they are quite easy to do, and I also love the Ravensburger Christmas Library puzzle (affiliate link) which I received to review a few years ago. 

I'm also hoping that I might be lucky enough to receive a puzzle or two in my stocking this year, and I have another birthday money puzzle waiting for me to complete in the New Year once the dining table has finished its Christmas dinner duty - watch this space!

Review - Map of the Universe jigsaw puzzle from Ravensburger

I was sent this jigsaw in exchange for a review.

When I was received the Ravensburger Map of the Universe (affiliate link) jigsaw puzzle to review I was a little daunted. It has 1500 pieces, which is the largest jigsaw I've ever attempted, and I could tell by looking at the picture that it was going to be a tricky one. There's lots of black and large areas of the jigsaw look very similar to each other. But I'm so glad that I gave it a go, and it wasn't nearly as difficult as I was expecting!

I approached the puzzle by sorting all the pieces into trays. Usually I begin a jigsaw by doing the edge, but because this puzzle was too large for my puzzle board I started with the circular centre section, which I calculated would just fit onto my jigsaw board. I made piles for edge pieces, the circular rings, the stars in the middle and the informative diagrams around the edges. Then I made a start on the centre. It was pretty easy to put together the coloured rings, and although the centre star map was challenging there was enough variety in the design that it wasn't boring. The picture on the box can't do the detailed image justice - there's much more to see on the actual jigsaw.

When the centre circular section was complete I transferred it (very carefully) to our dining table so that I could add in the outer sections. Some of the pieces were easy to place and others were more challenging, but by looking carefully at the image on the box and sorting the pieces by shape I was able to put the jigsaw together without too much trouble.

There was a definite sense of achievement when this puzzle was finished, and it looks most impressive! It's definitely a puzzle that you want to leave out for a few days once finished so that you can admire it and pick out all the details in the image.

The benefits of doing jigsaw puzzles

In the run up to Christmas this year I've really been enjoying my festive jigsaw puzzles. I've got quite a collection now, and I start them as soon as I can in November to make sure that I get them all finished. With a couple of new additions this year I must confess that I've only managed to complete five of the six - I'll need to start even earlier next year!

So I thought I'd share some of the reasons that I like to have a jigsaw puzzle on the go, and if you aren't a puzzler maybe it will inspire you to have a go!

* It's something to work on when you have a few minutes spare. Much better for the brain than scrolling on the phone!

* When working on a jigsaw for a longer period it's the perfect opportunity to let your mind wander. Sometimes I keep a notebook by my side to jot down any ideas that occur to me, whether it's blog posts, craft projects I want to try or other things that I need to do.

* It also helps me to switch off and relax, a bit like meditation. I find that I can get completely absorbed, and when I drag myself away to get on with something else I really feel like I've had a break and a rest.

* It's sociable - you can work on a jigsaw with other people, while talking to others, or while sitting with other people that are enjoying their own hobbies.

* Doing a jigsaw exercises both the left and right sides of the brain, as it's a mixture of logical and creative skills. So it can improve your problem solving skills. It's also working your memory, as you have to remember where you might have seen a certain piece, or what a part of the picture looks like while you hunt for the pieces that you need.

* It should also help improve your spacial awareness skills which could have a knock on affect in other areas of your life (hopefully like parking the car!)

* It's a complete break from the screen, as there's no excuse for picking up the phone. I try to put my phone in another room so that I'm not distracted by any notifications.

* You get a great sense of accomplishment when the puzzle finished. I leave a completed jigsaw out for a day or two to admire it, and often share a picture on social media!

If you don't have any jigsaw puzzles around in the house there are plenty of free websites that let you complete virtual jigsaw puzzles in a variety of different sizes and shapes - just do a quick search and find one with pictures that you like! I'd recommend giving it a go if you are looking for a new hobby!

The Christmas Library jigsaw puzzle from Ravensburger

I do love a Christmas jigsaw. I tend to acquire a new one almost every year, and I try make the time to complete each one in the weeks leading up to Christmas. The final one needs to be finished before Christmas day, because I like to spread my jigsaw board out on the dining room table and so I need it out of the way before we eat Christmas dinner! This year I've been lucky enough to receive a couple of new Christmas jigsaws to review from Ravensburger, and today I'm sharing with you the gorgeous The Christmas Library (affiliate link), a 1000 piece puzzle depicting a bookshelf stuffed with classic Christmas books.

I just love all the bright colours in this jigsaw, and because each book cover is generously sized it wasn't difficult to pick out some of the more obvious titles and get started. It wasn't too easy though, there are lots of similar looking sections and some areas were quite challenging. For example, I normally start a jigsaw with the edges, but I hadn't even found all the edge pieces until I was well into completing it! 

Like all Ravensburger puzzles the pieces are sturdy and slot together nicely. They also have a lovely smooth finish which doesn't produce too much glare underneath an overhead light - important as at this time of year you don't get much daylight.

I loved all the festive images, not just on the book covers but also little Christmas decorations and trinkets scattered across the shelves that were fun to spot and piece together. It's definitely a Christmas jigsaw that will put you in the mood for the season, and there's a good chance that it will also inspire you to dig out some classic Christmas reads!

I received this jigsaw in exchange for a review. This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Review - Disney Christmas jigsaw puzzle from Ravensburger

One of my favourite Christmas traditions is the Christmas jigsaw. I have very fond memories of working on a jigsaw during the school holidays, and while they don't always need to have a festive theme it's definitely much more fun if they do!

Regular readers will know that in this family we are big Disney fans, so we were all delighted to receive a lovely Disney Christmas (affiliate link) 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle to review from Ravensburger.

This Disney Christmas jigsaw depicts over sixty Disney and Disney Pixar characters gathered at a beautifully decorated railway station. The train is decorated with a Mickey garland, and the classic Disney characters are positioned in prime position in their festive costumes. There are plenty of different characters to spot, including princesses, princes, fairies and villains, from Disney films old and new.

It's a great jigsaw puzzle to work on as a family because the characters are easy to find and pick out, and appeal to all ages. Like all Ravensburger puzzles this jigsaw is very high quality, with sturdy pieces that slot together beautifully.

If you are looking for a fun Christmas jigsaw to add to your collection then I'd definitely recommend this one.

I received a copy of this jigsaw puzzle in exchange for a review. Amazon link is affiliate.